Archive: I Corps

Forward together we go, or in Hindi, Chalein Saath Saath!! The U.S. Army Pacific and I Corps welcomed the Indian army to the 19th India-U.S. Land Forces Executive Steering Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, March 11-13.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey made his first official troop visit to discuss the Army's priorities, outline his initiatives, and get feedback from Soldiers on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, March 2-3.

Soldiers who want to defend the nation in cyberspace, as part of the Army's newest and most technologically advanced career field, now have an Army branch to join that will take its place alongside infantry, artillery and the other Army combat arms branches.

Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, met with troops and senior leaders at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Nov. 18, 2014, to discuss the Army's strategic vision for the Pacific and how I Corps units will be part of the Army's continued focus on the region.

Dragging tires across a field, heavy chains draped over fatigued shoulders and old-fashioned pushups are considered normal activities in physical training, but to do this while in a field training exercise is not so average.

The abandoned cooling towers at the Satsop Business Park were the backdrop for an unusual drama played out there, Nov. 12. What started out as a quiet, cold morning heated up when Soldiers moved in and began battling insurgents.

America's Corps rebalances its efforts towards the Asia Pacific as part of the U.S. Defense Department's strategic realignment. I Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Brown leads this shift as I Corps will be the operational force for U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM). Combat, Joint and Combined operational experience from Iraq and Afghanistan will serve I Corps well. Several exercises will talk place with our partner nations - Japan, Korea, Thailand, Phillipines, Australia among other countries. These exercises will culminate towards our Joint Task Force Certifcation in the Talisman Sabre exercise based in Australia. I Corps, along with 7th Infantry Division and other units at JBLM will provide many enablers in supporting PACOM's mission.

I Corps Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan visits Oregon State University to meet students and faculty to discuss a future partnership and the media/military relationship. MG Buchanan also met with the OSU President Dr. Ed Ray. Community Relations is a key component to the I Corps Commander's priorities. America's Corps appreciate our Pacific Northwest partners.

CSM John Wayne Troxell led his senior non-commissioned officers in tough, demanding training, called Mangudai. Participants navigated the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) obstacle /confidence course, open-water rafting, and road-marching - all with little food and sleep. Participants include Soldiers, Marines and Airmen senior NCOs. The Magundai is a leadership/team building course designed to physically, mentally and emotionally test participants.

When three Soldiers, all food operations specialists from Task Force Spearhead, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, were placed at a remote FOB in western Afghanistan, they were asked to simply perform to standard.
They have done more than that though, they have excelled.

Providing constant aerial support can sometimes be an arduous task, as flight crews, medics and maintainers must be fully vigilant and aware while protecting the skies and ground below 24 hours a day.
This has been the mission for the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade over the last eight years in Iraq and now Afghanistan, with this proud tradition continuing to be upheld by Task Force Spearhead of the 1st ACB as they are the only active duty aviation unit in Regional Command West conducting full spectrum operations.

More than 100 servicemembers boarded yachts and participated in the 49th annual FOOFARAW, an annual military appreciation event sponsored by the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce and members of the Olympia Yacht Club

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. - On Sept. 1, the 2011 Operation Rising Star kicked off its annual singing contest with auditions at the Cascade Community Center here. It was open to all military branches, including family members.
The contest is hosted by 37 installations, each claiming a winner. The winner gets 500 dollars, second place gets 250, and third place gets $100. The playing field is then narrowed down to 12 finalists, who will compete against each other in San Antonio. Only one talented singer can be crowned the 2011 Rising Star.

UNIVERISTY PLACE, Wash. - Nearly a hundred civilians, Soldiers and their families gathered at the first Anthony Brock Memorial Basketball Tournament September 3-4 at Curtis High School for some friendly competition and to honor the memory of a Soldier, a husband and father whose life's passion was playing basketball.

Troops in Kabul, Afghanistan joined a global physical training day, Sept. 3, 2011, that left no room for the faint of heart. The only requirement was to sweat and embrace the pain -- 31 minutes for 31 fallen heroes.

A back-to-school carnival held Aug. 26 at the Chapel Support Center on McChord Field for families with Exceptional Family Member Program-enrolled children only solidified the belief for families like the Onates that Joint Base Lewis-McChord is the right place to be for special needs accommodation.

In some lines of work, truly substantial learning requires that you blow things up.
That was the idea behind Ravens Challenge, a three-day live-fire exercise at Leschi Town -- the premier mock village for training on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. -- that brought together military Explosive Ordnance Disposal and civilian bomb technicians from across Washington State and even agencies from as far as Portland, Ore., and British Columbia, Canada, Aug. 24-26.

When Col. Robert Dickerson took command of 16th Combat Aviation Brigade earlier this month, he was joined by several longtime friends who said they never expected Dickerson would be in the position he is today.
"They didn't think maybe with my sports background or how I was at school that I'd still be in," Dickerson said.

John D. "Bud" Hawk fought hard and earned the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War II, but the thing he is most proud of is neither the medal nor his heroic actions. He takes the most pride in being an educator.

Army chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear operations specialists assigned to the 23rd Chemical Battalion Aug. 16 at the Satsop development project.
While many key structures remain intact, Satsop was an unfinished nuclear power plant located southwest of Olympia, Wa.

A video crew was at Joint Base Lewis-McChord to shoot the final footage segments for an Army-sponsored reality show called "Starting Strong," a project headed by television actor and producer Ricky Schroder.
In each episode potential recruits are matched with a senior noncommissioned officer, who serves as a mentor, and two battle buddies. They then get to experience a few days-in-the-lives of those Soldiers. Toward the end of each episode, the civilian "prospect" also meets an Army veteran who now uses skills gained as a Soldier in a successful civilian career. The prospect then must make a decision whether to enlist or not.

A monthly, daylong series of group discussions between military teens at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., called the Youth Resiliency Academy, is among the newest programs to be offered by Army Community Services to the JBLM community.
The program, which came to JBLM in May, seeks to bring together adolescents from within military communities, encourage healthy peer-to-peer communication and equip the teens with skills they can apply to all their lives' stressful situations.

16th Combat Aviation Brigade stands up as a medium brigade on Joint Base Lewis McChord. This split-based brigade will have a footprint both in Fort Wainwright, Alaska and JBLM, Washington and is the first of two new aviation brigades for the Army.

After winning last year's Army Combatives heavyweight title, Jackson spent the next year preparing for the 2011 tournament. He fought through the three-day tournament and didn't let his re-injured right hand " his power hand " prevent him from repeating his success. Jackson defeated Minnesota National Guard's Braden Simont by a technical knockout in the final match of the tournament on July 23 to claim his second consecutive heavyweight title.

Shannon Baird, a performance enhancement specialist at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., has been working with the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion for the past six months to help its Soldiers fine-tune their mental preparation for certain tasks.
Baird headed into the field to work with Soldiers from B Co. for the entire duration of a ten-day field training exercise Aug. 8-18 intended to prepare them for a deployment sometime within the next year.

The Defense Health Board met in Tacoma earlier this week to discuss health concerns facing servicemembers, but the board members didn't stick to briefs and slideshows. The group also took the time to get information from actual Soldiers.

The 198-pound female black bear was one of three captured in a four-week period this summer, all around Miller Hill. While the animals are frequently seen foraging for food in the late summer and fall, there have been more spotted on base this year than ever before.

For the last six years Bruce Antonowicz has followed a strict Ironman training regimen. As he prepares to compete in his seventh Ironman competition in November, he hopes to be nearing the peak of his career.

For many Soldiers, being sprayed in the face with pepper spray is not a common occurrence. But for the 15 Soldiers of the 571st Military Police Company, being sprayed is just another part of training and a skill that could save their lives.
The group to be sprayed by Oleoresin Capsicum, commonly known as Pepper Spray, consisted of two officers, ten enlisted and three cadets all who needed to be certified on the training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, July 29. But the training lane was not just about being sprayed with the OC spray; they also had to complete five stations relevant to their role as a military police officer.

NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER, Calif. - For some Arrowhead Soldiers of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, attending religious services creates a fresh start to a new week in the Mojave Desert at the National Training Center in Southern California.

Lt. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Commanding General for ISAF Joint Command, conducts a patrol with Soldiers from Regional Command South's 10th Mountain Division near Kandahar, Afghanistan and meets with local Afghan leaders to discuss gains in the former insurgent stronghold. Scaparrotti met with Afghan and ISAF leaders to assess gains from their combined operations last winter and spring, aimed at rooting out insurgents.

The newest addition to I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, proved its members are masters of multitasking, hosting a ceremony with four major events: the uncasing of 16th CAB colors, a brigade change of command, the activation of two new battalion-level formations and for good measure, the redesignation of a squadron.

After 15,000 miles on his bicycle, Doug Adams was finally on familiar territory. For 10 months, the retired lieutenant colonel had averaged 60 miles a day across 48 states when he turned on to East Gate Road on July 28. It was the first time on his journey Adams recognized the road he traveled on.

With impending overseas deployments, frequent changes of station and occasional away-from-home temporary duty, Army life can sometimes feel like a travelling show.
And while most Soldiers can’t exactly attest to feeling like stage performers, the U.S. Army Soldier Show’s stop at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Aug.1-2 served as a reminder that there’s at least one similarity between Soldier and performer.

Madigan Army Medical Center’s Moms Own Milk group is a twice-weekly initiative by the hospital’s lactation consultant office that offers new and practiced mothers alike who breastfeed their babies a face-to-face forum of education and advice on the topic.
It's reassuring JBLM spouses and servicemembers alike of their decisions as breastfeeding mothers.

One Soldier’s creativity and passion for cooking has driven her to excel and sweep the I Corps Special Troops Battalion Dining Facility’s “Chef of the Week” competition for the month of July.
That Soldier, Pfc. Jaliesa Barber, a food service specialist, has won the “Chef of the Week” competition a total of seven times since it started three months ago.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord is at the forefront of joint bases across the Department of Defense in developing best practices and creating a culture of collaboration, officials at the Washington state base said recently.
The largest joint base west of the Rockies has been committed for nearly 18 months to implement best Department of Defense practices. As one of 12 joint bases around the country and the largest of the two led by the Army,

Changes are coming to the Army Career and Alumni Program that will smooth Soldiers' transitions back into civilian life -- and the concept that inspired them was born at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Wounded warriors from the Warrior Transition Battalion participated in adaptive sports, adding competitiveness to their physical therapy at Shoreline Park July 29.
Soldiers demonstrated their athletic prowess during sitting volleyball, disc golf, and wheelchair basketball, sports that have been adapted so everyone can play despite physical abilities.

The first-ever live Introduction to Telemental Health Delivery Workshop at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology's headquarters on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., last week offered guidance to providers on offering mental health services from a distance using videoconferencing technology.

Maj. Mike Mai ranks nationally near the top in the hammer throw, and after his second-place finish at the U.S. Track and Field National Championships in Eugene, Ore., last month, he'll compete in his second World Championships in August.

That’s how she ended up starting a working focus group for the Army Community Services Exceptional Family Member Program. The group has monthly meetings where everyone from medical professionals to EFMP members can get together to identify and address problems " and it’s grown dramatically since starting five months ago.

Lewis-McChord Communities’ annual barbecue at Eagleview Community Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord-North July 23 was an event with a simple purpose: treating servicemembers and their families who live on the installation to a cost-free day of fun while allowing them to build friendly bonds with others.

Since 2007, Camp Patriot, a non-profit organization, has sponsored the annual climb of Mount Rainier's 14,411-foot summit for wounded warriors. Only 50 percent of climbers reach the summit, proving the significance of the challenge that lies ahead.

For the last 18 years, tribes from as far as Alaska and Northern California take canoes to spend a week with a different host tribe, making short stops with tribes along the way. On Monday, 17 canoes on the “Paddle to Swinomish 2011” landed at Solo Point, which forms Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s northwestern border, to spend the night before continuing north to La Conner.

THE ARMY IS ALWAYS LOOKING AT WAYS TO IMPROVE EQUIPMENT TO FIT THE NEEDS OF THE SOLDIERS ON THE GROUND. ARMY STAFF SERGEANT WENDY HALL SHOWS US HOW SOME TANKERS AT JOINT-BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD ARE SWITCHING GEARS AND VEHICLES IN ORDER TO PROVIDE RAPID AND LETHAL DIRECT FIRES TO SUPPORT THE INFANTRY ON THE BATTLEFIELD.